The former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has signed a four-year deal to become a leading pundit on BT Sport.

Scholes, 39, will be one of the channel’s leading analysts for their Premier League coverage in the coming season and he will also be heavily involved in BT’s offering when they take over the rights for Champions League football from the start of the 2015-16 season.

“Paul has proved himself to be a forthright and astute pundit since he hung up his boots,” said Grant Best, BT Sport’s senior channel executive producer.

“His recent opinions have been every bit as tenacious as his tackling on the pitch. It is fantastic that we have been able to sign up a legend like Paul to offer a unique insight, based on a record of consistent success at the highest level of the game.”

Scholes, who will also feature on ITV’s Champions League coverage next season, rarely spoke out in his playing days but has courted controversy since with criticism of Wayne Rooney in his Paddy Power blog and of Manchester United under David Moyes.

BT’s opening live game of the season is Manchester United’s meeting with Swansea City at Old Trafford on Saturday 16 August, Louis van Gaal’s first Premier League game in charge.